With the rest of the defense, Jared Allen watches the last minute of the game from the sideline, as the Minnesota Vikings lost 17-13 to the Chicago Bears at the Metrodome in Minneapolis on January 1, 2012. Allen had 3 1/2 sacks to set a new Vikings record for most sacks in a single season. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)

Minnesota's Jared Allen, right, was all smiles as he spoke briefly with Chicago's Julius Peppers at the end of the game after breaking the Vikings' record for single season sacks with 22. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)

Less than an hour earlier, the Vikings lost 17-13 to the Chicago Bears in a game in which the dominant story line was Allen’s pursuit of the NFL sack record. He had 3-1/2 sacks in the game, breaking Chris Doleman’s franchise record of 21, but his 22 sacks for the season left him one-half sack short of equaling Michael Strahan’s league record. After reaching 22 sacks, Allen was double- and triple-teamed, and the Bears were determined not to let him get the record.

“We did adjust late, and we were able to keep him away from the quarterback just enough times,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said.

After the game, I asked Allen about how close he came to making history.

BS: You had a heck of a game, but were you disappointed to come within a half-sack of the league record?

JA: Yeah. Yeah. It’s like being runner-up at the prom, you know what I mean. The crown just doesn’t weigh as much. It’s an honor and a privilege for me to have the Vikings’ single-season record and be in the same breath as Doleman and Alan Page and those guys. This organization has a history of just dominant defensive linemen, so to be at the top of that is a true honor. To be so close – now I have to start back at zero next year. It was a fun run. It was a fun chase.

BS: What would the sack total be if you had gotten there a half step faster in some games?

JA: I don’t count the ones when I’m almost there. I counted three this year that were in my arms. One they gave a team sack in Green Bay. Then the one when I got poked in the eye. I missed that one. I missed my fourth sack in Detroit. Those are the ones I look at – when I was right there. Very easily could have been 25, 26 probably. Each year, you’re going to have a bunch of almosts, though. When I first got in the league, one of the vets told me, “You’re going to miss two before you get one.” That’s just kind of how it works. Hats off to Strahan. He obviously didn’t miss too many. I think there were three games where I didn’t have a sack, so I have to try to be more consistent in every single game.

BS: After you broke the team record, you did more of a dance than the calf roping routine you usually do.

JA: I talked to Doleman and told him when I tied it, “It’s an honor and a pleasure just to have my name mentioned with yours.” He told me, “I’m cheering for you. Go out and break it.” I was just amped when I broke that. Just to be half a sack away (from the NFL record) in the third quarter, I said: “I’ve got the full fourth quarter. This is going to be great.” Momentum shifted. We didn’t get another score. I thought for sure we’d get another score and get back on top. We ran out of time. Things were emotionally charged. I’ve been playing football since I was 8 years old. To be at this point in my career, it’s amazing. I can’t describe it.

BS: Do you have any idea what you would have done if you got the league record?

JA: I probably would have thrown my helmet into the crowd, probably would have jumped up, ran up and kissed my wife and my baby in the suite, walked into the locker room and quit. (Laughs.) They probably would have given me a 15-yard penalty. They probably would have gotten a first down because I would have celebrated so much. I probably would have taken my shoulder pads off. So it’s probably a good thing I didn’t get it, right? I’ve got motivation. I know it’s possible now. I know it’s possible to get there.

BS: Is this the expectation now – to be in the 20s for sacks every season?

JA: No. Oh, you’ve got to be crazy. By the way, who wrote I had a sub-par year last year? That was messed up. That hurt my feelings this morning. You know, 20 sacks is ridiculous. If you get over 10, it’s a great season. It’s an accomplishment, especially in this league and the way quarterbacks get rid of the ball so fast, and the blocking schemes you see every week. Do I want to do this every year? Absolutely. Will it happen? I don’t know.

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